The invention relates to a method and a device for aligning dough pieces a conveying surface of a conveyor, in particular in an aligned row on a conveyor in case of multiple adjacent arranged dough pieces.
Such a device is, for example, described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,187,873. This patent describes a device for delivering discrete pieces of dough to a feed conveyor leading to a treatment station. This device comprises a supply conveyor, an intermediate conveyor and the feed conveyor, and is used for transporting pieces of dough which are disposed in lengthwise spaced transverse rows on a supply conveyer. When the rows of dough pieces are correctly aligned on the supply conveyor, they will reach the intermediate conveyor in the same correct alignment and will also be transferred to the feed conveyor without change in the positions of the pieces relative to each other. However, if the rows of dough pieces are not correctly aligned, or instance due to an irregular placement of the pieces upon the supply conveyor, the pieces will successively reach the intermediate conveyor while the intermediate conveyor is standing still. Successively all the pieces of dough in the same row will be stopped when they reach the intermediate conveyor and finally, when all the pieces of dough in one row are correctly aligned along the intermediate conveyor, the intermediate conveyor resumes rotation, the pieces of dough of the same row will be lifted by the intermediate conveyor to the feed conveyor in correctly aligned positions and will continue on the feed conveyor in such correct alignment.
A disadvantage of the prior art device is, that the dough pieces are stopped by the intermediate conveyor, while the intermediate conveyor is standing still and the supply conveyor is continuously driven. This may result in an unwanted deformation of the dough pieces. In particular, since the dough pieces may arrive at the intermediate conveyor at different moments in time, this deformation of dough pieces which are stopped first can be different from the deformation of dough pieces which are stopped successively later.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and a device in which misplaced discrete dough pieces are automatically arranged into a predetermined aligned row of substantially equally shaped dough pieces.